Men's Soccer Struggles Continue as Limestone Posts 3-0 Shutout

GAFFNEY, S.C. Ė Limestone College (7-3, 4-1) scored twice in the first half and then put together a stellar defensive effort as they did not allow a single shot on goal in a 3-0 win over visiting Pfeiffer University (1-9, 0-5) Thursday in a Conference Carolinas menís soccer matchup at Saints Field.†

Ranked fifth in the nation in goals per game, the Saints lived up to their billing as they punched home the match-winning score with just 97 ticks coming off of the clock. On the play, freshman midfielder Sam Orritt (Doncaster, England) headed home his first score of the season off a corner kick by sophomore midfielder Larry Mahon (Kildare, Ireland) to stake the home team to a quick 1-0 advantage.

Limestone continuously mounted offensive pressure on the Falcons defense, narrowly missing scores on several occasions within the first 10 minutes of action. Orritt had another solid look at the frame only to have his resulting shot blocked before sophomore midfielder Thomas Metzemaekers (Groningen, Netherlands) narrowly missed putting LC up by two scores when his attempt bounced off the post.

The Blue and Gold held an 8-0 advantage in shots taken when Pfeiffer broke the goose egg in the shots column on an attempt by Taylor Scalera (Dacula, Ga.) just shy of the 20-minute mark. The Falcons did an excellent job on the defensive side, keeping the Saints high-powered offense under wraps until freshman forward Jorge Mackenna (Santiago, Chile) put LC ahead 2-0 off a perfectly executed cross by Mahon in the 42nd minute.

The Saints maintained the pressure to start the second half before breaking through with a score at the 62:49-mark. Sophomore forward Marvin Hudson (Nottinghamshire, England) served a nice volley into the box for sophomore midfielder Bryce Ziada (Melbourne, Australia) who then took his own deflected shot and placed it into the net for his first career goal.

The Saints came close on a couple of occasion to making it a four- or five-goal advantage but Ziada missed high at point-blank range before a header by freshman midfielder Hodaka Yonezawa sailed left. The Falcons had their best looks in the final 10 minutes of action but attempts by Scalera and Kyle Toler (Charlotte, N.C.) could not find the range as the Saints moved on to collect the 3-0 victory.

For the game, Limestone completely dominated on the offensive side as they outpaced Pfeiffer 33-5 in shots taken while also holding a commanding 13-7 advantage in corner kicks. The Falcons did not put a shot on goal.

Scalera and Toler each led the Falcons with a pair of attempts while Fahret Salihovic (Charlotte, N.C.) put up a shot. Keeper Zach Liles (Cumming, Ga.) stayed busy, recording 11 saves on the afternoon